Remember this Titan (11 page)

John O’Connor and Bob Stumpf

1969—Bringing the Trophy Home to Hammond

Grandson Grayson and Mrs. Bertier with President Clinton

Julius Campbell

It doesn’t matter who they are. If you want to take them to a higher level of performance
they need to be developed. I’ve never met a leader that wouldn’t say making their
team better was a priority. Even the most unenlightened would agree that when people
have more skill and capability they can perform better. Unfortunately, what many profess
as their philosophy does not show up on the videotape. They believe that development
is crucial and yet their actions run counter to their attitude.

I recently heard a coach proclaim that, “He was hired to win football games. He was
not a baby sitter. Behavior off the field was an individual’s responsibility.” He
walked his talk and as a result, his team imploded. Had he introduced a program that
highlighted civic responsibility, there would have been no victims, a few lives would
have been salvaged, and he would still have his job.

Over the years I’ve seen an abundance of kids that needed help. It should have been
given long before they got to me. I remember one parent who had no money for a tutor
but was always flush when someone shouted “beer.”

What should be understood is that there are consequences when someone is not properly
developed. That parent may be giving milk money to a fifty year old. The
concept is so fundamental why wouldn’t anyone develop the talent they had? I’ve come
to the conclusion that there are a few reasons:

♦ It takes time to develop people.

♦ There is an expense in developing people.

♦ There is ignorance as to who needs to be developed and what needs to be done.

In every environment there are people who are not prepared to do their best. Did you
know that they know it? They would like to fix it. I believe development is an inalienable
right. As a coach I am asking for my players help. Quid pro quo demands if I ask for
it, I should be willing to give it. And the sooner I do, the quicker the individual
will improve.

Whenever I’ve taken on a leadership responsibility I don’t tiptoe into the environment.
I hold a huddle. I ask some questions. I make some claims. The first thing I do is
build expectation. I want everyone to know they will get better. I found that expectation
creates optimism. When people believe they are going to improve they get excited.
Excitement is a catalyst for effort and it is effort that makes the difference.

Some people don’t get it. Not the fact that there are weak links. Everyone understands
that. Anyone who has ever lead a team acknowledges the weakness exists. Knowing it
is one thing, accepting it is something else. No leader of any consequence has ever
blessed having marginal guys in the middle. The difference between a leader and someone
that should take up following lies not in the identification of the deficiency but
rather the speed at which you do something about it.

He was the commanding officer of the 82nd Airborne Division and some said as fine
a leader as America ever produced. In 1989 he went to war and never left. Name the
conflict and Swannack was there. When trouble ignited Chuck Swannack was called on
to extinguish the flames. Airborne, Ranger, Jungle Expert. His chest was filled with
medals. Everyone who had ever met General Swannack knew he was as hard as a woodpecker’s
lips.

But it wasn’t his toughness that made his leadership extraordinary. It was his uncompromising
commitment to the welfare of others. His mission had always centered around making
his soldiers the best that they could be. The amazing thing was that Chuck Swannack
applied that same attitude to people he didn’t know. A request was made. The timing
was bad. General Swannack had his hands full dodging bullets and facing the challenges
that come with great responsibility. It didn’t matter. A little boy needed help and
he felt obliged to give it. The letter read:

Joe
,

I received your email address yesterday but I was a bit busy closing out a battle
here in Iraq. I was told you asked about the war and what keeps soldiers together.
Every week I speak to all the newly assigned troopers in the 82nd Airborne Division,
and the points I always discuss are DSWAT . . . Discipline, Skill, Will and Teamwork!
It is the philosophy by which I command soldiers
.

Discipline is “always doing what is right” in the absence of orders or someone telling
you what to do
.

Skill is physical as well as technical—physical fitness, ability to use your weapon,
airborne proficiency, buddy first aid, and small unit tactical drills
.

Will is a positive attitude to accomplish the task at hand even when confronted with
problems or adversity
.

Teamwork is to always be a contributing member to whatever team you are assigned
.

I tell all the troopers that we follow the Golden Rule and treat each other with dignity
and respect. Additionally, we all have an airborne buddy to take care of and keep
safe. Over here, I challenge every trooper to bring their buddy home alive
.

I close by telling the troopers why I demand DSWAT from every member of the 82nd Airborne
Division. It is because lives depend daily on the discipline, skill, will and teamwork
of others. This philosophy proves true every day here in combat and every day back
at Ft Bragg, too
.

Apply DSWAT to your life Joe and I think you will find it will make a difference
.

All the Way . . . Airborne!

MG Chuck Swannack

I was honored to have been shown that letter. I know why General Swannack wrote it.
People don’t get better by accident.

When I first started coaching I viewed all my players the same. I was a fan of Jefferson
and he had said people were created equal. It makes for a hot headline. In reality
it’s off the mark. Genetics makes everyone unequal. Parenting, environment, and experience
widens the gap. Throw in some
mistrust, apprehension, and a wiggle in your walk and the group that shows up on the
first day of practice is inherently unequal.

There are players that are rough and tough and others whose knees are knocking. There
are those that are sharp as razors and some as dull as mud. The emotional make-up
of your team will run the gamut from titanium to egg shells. And this is why they
call you coach. It is your responsibility to evaluate the potential of each individual
and then help him or her realize it.

There was a time I tried to treat everyone equally. I raised the performance bar and
told people to get over it. For some it was too low and for others it was too high.
The high potential athlete felt underchallenged and the low potential player felt
diminished when the bar cracked him in the nose. In both cases I lost.

It was the 1968 season and I was feeling pretty good about myself. During the summer
practice sessions I rode my guys hard. One young man, Jack Coogan, didn’t care for
it. At 325 pounds he was the biggest guy on the field. After a series of forty-yard
sprints Jack asked if he could be excused to go to the bathroom. He never returned.

The next season Jack came out again. Same drill. Summer workouts were meant for suffering.
Everyone would run and everyone would feel the pain. Jack had gotten a year older
and a bit more confident. He decided to speak up. He asked if he could show me something.
I said okay. He dropped his pants and pointed to his inner thighs. They were blistered,
blood red, and oozed pain. He had rubbed them raw. “I can’t do the sprints coach.”
My first reaction was to
tell Jack to suck it up but then I realized he might want to take another visit to
the bathroom.

I stood there and surveyed the wounds. Anybody who could have lasted as long as he
did wasn’t a wimp. Jack might have been as tough a player as we had but he was operating
under different circumstances.

On that day enlightenment penetrated my thick skull. People were not equal. Everyone
had their strengths and their weaknesses. There were differences. To treat everyone
the same was profoundly stupid and blatantly unfair. We had a number of heavy players
that fell into the Coogan category. I adjusted. I made wind sprints optional. I came
up with a few other drills that got the desired results. The problem went away and
Jack Coogan became a dominant player and an All-Metro selection. In retrospect, I
wonder why it took me so long to figure that out.

The epiphany arrived and I changed. When I did, I transformed a dropout into a star.
The lesson was learned. My success would hinge on my ability to elevate the performance
bar to the right level. Placement was the key. I’ve learned that there is nothing
wrong with asking a player what they thought. Their input plus my capability analysis
determined how high we would go. When I allowed my player to be part of the process,
every challenge was met with success and every success became an energizing force.

I’m not the first person that has figured this out. Any coach of consequence understands
the deal. That’s why bad teams have been fixed overnight and great teams have been
destroyed in the same amount of time. Fletcher Christian was a terrific team player
and then one day he said, “I quit.”
When he did, half a team went with him. Bligh was never the same.

To make sure I treated people fairly, I began to break my players down into three
categories.

The Blue Chipper.
This is the player that has it all. He or she is not hard to spot. They are key to
championships. Keep raising the bar until they tell you they have had enough. Take
a break and then raise it again. No matter what you demand of a Blue Chipper, he or
she will attempt to get it done.

My assistant coach, Glenn Furman understood the concept. We were in the playoffs and
had our hands full with a very tough team. Our star defensive end got injured and
came to the sidelines. The next down was critical. Furman had the answer. He turned
to John O’Connor and told him to go in and play the position. The only problem was
this Blue Chipper was our quarterback and had never played a down on defense. He was
glad to accommodate his coach. As O’Connor ran onto the field I stood in shock. Our
franchise was about to vanish. He rushed the passer, knocked the ball free and recovered
the fumble. He turned his jersey around and then took us into the end zone.

The Plugger.
This player has not been fully developed but has substantial potential. The Plugger
has been underutilized and knows it. The Plugger has been waiting for you to make
them better. When your developmental plan takes a Plugger from operating at 40 percent
to 65 percent, that gain is significant. Now multiply that number by the number of
Pluggers
on the team and all of a sudden you’re in a ticker tape parade.

The Kantby.
The Kantby does not possess the skill or capability to do what needs to be done.
These are the people that you need to point in a different direction. Life is not
fair, but you can be. You can also be sensitive and kind as you explain why the situation
may not be right for them. Some of the most productive people on the planet were playing
in the wrong arena and when they were encouraged to go somewhere else, they rewrote
the record book.